Warning: Use of undefined constant referer - assumed 'referer' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 102

Warning: Use of undefined constant host - assumed 'host' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 105

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays:102) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 106

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays:102) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 109
The Forever Moving Land - Online Term Paper

The Forever Moving Land


The land below us is always in motion. Plate tectonics studies these
restless effects to give us a better understanding of the Earth and its past.
New molten rocks are poured out in the form of magma from the mid-ocean ridges.
The rock is recycled and re-entered back into the earth in deep ocean trenches
through convection current. The convection current in the mantle drives plates
around either against or away from each other. These collisions give rise to
earthquakes, volcanoes, mountains, and continental drift. The crashing and
spreading of the plates forms the landscape of the Earth as we see it today.
The positions of the land masses today is a result of continental drift. ...

Want to read the rest of this paper?
Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay
and over 50,000 other term papers

that still exists today. The immense heat from the magma (approximately
2700(C) causes convection in the mantle (Figure 1). Convection is caused by
non-uniform temperature in a fluid and density differences. This continuous
convection is the cause of plate movement. Each complete cycle, called a
convection cell, drives the plate in the direction of the cell. How does a
'solid' mantle move? The mantle may be solid but, as with most solids, it will
deform if long term stress is applied; "...like Silly Putty which seeps into
the rug when left unattended, mantle material flows when subjected to small
long-term stresses."1
Presently, there are more than fourteen plates in the Earth's crust
(Figure 22). Upwelling hot magma flows out from mid-ocean ridges and then cools
down when exposed to the cooled environment outside; the layer of cooled magma
forms the lithosphere. When magma flows out from the ridges, the crust is
fractured and a new ocean floor is built spreading ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays.
Write better papers. Get better grades.


Already a member? Login

accepted today, however. There was
abundant evidence for Wegener to believe in the existance of Pangea. The shape
of the continents could be pieced together like a giant jigsaw puzzle suggesting
that the continents were once 'glued' together. The fossils found on the
continents were not distinct to that particular land, but were also found in
lands that were separated by thousands of kilometers of water. Fossils
indicated that identical species existed in different continents. Geological
structures also demonstrated that the continents were, in fact, one giant land
mass; old mountain ranges from one continent matched with those from another
(i.e., South America and Africa).
Ocean ...

Succeed in your coursework without stepping into a library.
Get access to a growing library of notes, book reports,
and research papers in 2 minutes or less.


CITE THIS PAGE:

The Forever Moving Land. (2005, September 18). Retrieved March 29, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Forever-Moving-Land/33498
"The Forever Moving Land." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 18 Sep. 2005. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Forever-Moving-Land/33498>
"The Forever Moving Land." Essayworld.com. September 18, 2005. Accessed March 29, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Forever-Moving-Land/33498.
"The Forever Moving Land." Essayworld.com. September 18, 2005. Accessed March 29, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Forever-Moving-Land/33498.
JOIN NOW
Join today and get instant access to this and 50,000+ other essays


PAPER DETAILS
Added: 9/18/2005 03:55:15 PM
Category: Science & Nature
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 2829
Pages: 11

Save | Report

SHARE THIS PAPER

SAVED ESSAYS
Save and find your favorite essays easier

SIMILAR ESSAYS
» The White Man's Abuse On The La...
» Kate Chopins The Awakening
» America And The Normandy Invasi...
» Discourse On The Origin Of Ineq...
» The Kite Runner
» Old Man And The Sea
» Cyberspace And The American Dre...
» Sand Creek Massacre
» The Nation’s Sectional Discord ...
» The Constitution: Discord And T...
Copyright | Cancel | Contact Us

Copyright © 2024 Essayworld. All rights reserved